


Never gonna give you up

by Ellstra



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Married Couple, Supernatural Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 19:01:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10556112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellstra/pseuds/Ellstra
Summary: It is rumoured that a Sith could turn a loved one into a draugur, a vessel for the most perverse there is in the Force. It doesn’t dare claim a force-user but thrives on the unprotected mind disconnected from the Force. The occurrences are sparse and few have been noted throughout history. The emergence of a draugur requires a strong bond between the Sith and his mate, and a presence of a moral code in the Sith.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this piece of art by Jeusus](http://jeusus.tumblr.com/post/159081500138/jeusus-force-corrupted-super-quick-doodle-before)

Kylo stretched in an attempt to soothe the pain in his nape and he groaned. The room was dark, the windows covered by heavy drapes. He knew it was to protect the books from yellowing and wilting, but he always felt like he was suffocating in libraries. Although maybe it was just his fear closing his windpipe.

He closed the book he’d been reading and placed it on the pile with the rest of them. His research had been thorough and mostly fruitless but what he did find terrified him. The books that mentioned what he was looking for were ancient and scarce, and he had to fly to get some of them from sacred libraries guarded by dedicated keepers. Leafing through an ancient book was a serene experience and were the circumstances different, he'd enjoy it. Instead, he barely noticed the tremendous amount of knowledge around him on his desperate hunt for something that would prove his horrible, terrifying theory wrong. 

But the more he searched, the more he found until he had to accept the truth. He was poisoning Hux, and Hux was going to die. 

The first time he noticed the change was when Hux lay opposite him in bed and played with his hair. Kylo watched Hux, always so tender and somehow small in the dark right before they'd fall asleep when he glimpsed a flash of yellow in Hux’s eyes. They have always been unpredictable, green, blue, grey and everything in between, but they have never had this colour. It was just a glance and it disappeared when Kylo blinked, so he convinced himself it was just an illusion. 

He couldn't blink it away the next time it happened - in the middle of a meeting with a leader of some planet Hux wanted to seize. Kylo could tell when Hux was mad or frustrated, and at that moment he was both. His adversary was a rather impassive, self-important man and Hux was losing his patience. And there it came - Hux's eyes flared up yellow and his voice was surer and stronger. Kylo felt the Force twirl around him but it had a bad taste, like a food about to go bad. 

He looked out for it from then on, and found with horror that it happened more often and for longer. It was a circle - Hux’s bad mood brought it out, and it made him miserable in return. Hux wasn't Force sensitive, Kylo was sure of that, but somehow he could pick up on some stale, rotten residue of it. It made Kylo sick, his stomach twisting in disgust and horror whenever he was near it. This was the Dark Side his uncle warned him about, this was the corruption waiting for the greedy Sith who couldn't control their connection with the lowest undercurrents of human nature. And it had somehow claimed Hux.

Kylo had never heard of anything like that. Somehow the dark Force managed to latch onto Hux like a parasite and gave very little in return. Hux couldn’t control it but it followed his bad moods, his feelings of jealousy, anger or self-hatred and amplified them so that they came more and more often. It grew stronger while Hux changed, and Kylo watched with horror how his husband distanced himself more and more. 

That was when his research began. He read through hundreds of books trying to understand and fearing what he might find. The last result he’d found had burned itself into his mind and he couldn’t stop probing it like a sore or the hole after a missing tooth. 

_ It is rumoured that a Sith could turn a loved one into a draugur, a vessel for the most perverse there is in the Force. It doesn’t dare claim a force-user but thrives on the unprotected mind disconnected from the Force. The occurrences are sparse and few have been noted throughout history. The emergence of a draugur requires a strong bond between the Sith and his mate, and a presence of a moral code in the Sith.  _

Even the word for what Hux had seemingly turned to sounded horrible, like a sound a drowning man might make. Kylo leafed hopelessly through the books to find a solution to his situation, but the more he learned, the less hope he had. 

_ Severity of the condition is particular to each of the possessed and the period of the metamorphosis differs, yet most cases end in insanity, violence and, in many cases, a mortal fight between the draugur and the Sith. There are no known remedies for the condition, although some scholars argue the separation of the draugur from the Sith might decelerate the transformation. _

Kylo sighed and hid his face in his hands. So this was it. He could either leave Hux and hope the man he loved would come back without ever seeing him again, or stay with him and watch him turn into a vengeful spirit. He was sure that if there were a solution, the old, powerful Sith would have figured it out. There was simply no way he would come up with something they hadn’t tried. Unless…

Unless neither of them had a lover as smart and inventive as Kylo did. Maybe the key wasn’t in the Force user but in the other. Maybe if he knew and could actively fight it… 

When Kylo got back to the palace, he hurried on his way to their bedroom. It was late, and Hux was surely already there, probably working. Kylo’s stomach rumbled and reminded him that it had been hours since he last ate, but he paid it no mind. 

The closer he was to the room however, the less sure he was. He couldn’t just barge into the room and tell Hux that he was sick and it was Kylo’s fault. The old Hux might have heard him out, but this new one might do everything from banishing Kylo from their room to attacking him. This required strategic approach and perfect timing. Hux would have to be as happy and content as he could get. Kylo slowed down and caught his breath - he didn’t know he was running until he made himself stop. 

He opened the door to their bedroom quietly in case Hux was talking to someone over the comm and entered. The picture in front of him was one he had gotten used to - Hux behind a surprisingly messy table sipping on some tea, the rest of the room meticulously clean. Hux once explained to him that his table was orderly and only looked untidy but Kylo didn’t see it. His own table looked much the same but he wasn’t ashamed to call it messy. 

“Hello,” Kylo greeted Hux and walked over to him. 

“Hi,” Hux raised his head and smiled. Kylo’s heart melted at the sight of Hux’s green eyes, and he almost started crying. Hux had to be in a particularly good mood. 

“You seem cheerful,” Kylo said and hoped pointing it out wouldn’t change it. He walked behind Hux and wrapped his arms around Hux’s neck, breathing in the smell of Hux’s hair. 

“And you seem affectionate,” Hux smiled and turned his head to get a kiss from Kylo. 

“I love you,” Kylo replied and caught Hux’s lips with his own. 

“What did you do?” Hux asked afterwards. 

“What would I do?”

“I don’t know. It just seems you’re making up for something, or preparing me for some bad news.”

“How could you think that?” Kylo objected, “Can’t a man love his husband?” 

“I suppose he can,” Hux smiled and turned around on his chair. He laid his hands on Kylo’s hips and pulled him in for another kiss. 

“I missed you,” Kylo murmured into Hux’s mouth.

“How much?”

“So much,” Kylo smirked and ran his palms down Hux’s chest, opening his jacket and slipping them below. He moved his lips from Hux’s mouth to his jaw, then his earlobe. “So much.”

“You haven’t seen me for three days,” Hux chuckled and his palms cupped Kylo’s ass. 

“It felt much longer,” Kylo mumbled against Hux’s neck. He swallowed the words that crawled onto his tongue about how long it had been since Hux was this welcoming, this tender. 

“Come to bed, you romantic,” Hux suggested. 

Kylo whimpered and moved a little so that Hux could get up, and he wrapped his arms around Hux tightly, hoping he’ll never have to let go again. Hux tensed a little but after the initial surprise he pulled Kylo just as close. 

“I love you so much,” Kylo said again, hoping that if he repeated it often enough, he’d heal Hux. 

“I love you too,” Hux replied with a smile. 

“I know.”

Finally Hux steered Kylo towards the bed and laid him on it, kissing his husband. Kylo fell apart under his hands, babbling an endearment after endearment. He’d never given himself this urgently or this hungrily. He had always prefered to give than to take, but he liked to be a challenge. This time, he just wanted Hux to have him, to take him and to never let go, and that maybe he might die from happiness in Hux’s arms. 

“Kylo,” Hux whispered when they lay side by side, their fingers linked between them, “why are you crying?”

Kylo was about to say he wasn’t, to dry his tears and be done with it, but he’d be dishonest to Hux and miss an opportunity. Hux seemed to be as relaxed as he could get these days, and Kylo should use it. And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. Not yet. 

He shook his head and snuggled closer to Hux, holding onto him. Hux played with his hair, holding Kylo close. He didn't want to push Kylo, and he knew the invitation still stood. 

“Hux, I need to talk to you,” Kylo murmured at last. He held onto Hux for a second longer before letting go and sitting up.

Hux sat up too and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. He laid his hand on the mattress beside him, opened and inviting while Kylo pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them before changing his mind and sitting cross-legged instead. Hux watched him fidget and resisted the urge to tell Kylo not to say anything just yet, not in this perfect moment. 

“Do you remember how I explained the Light side and the Dark side?” Kylo asked with a troubled sigh, and he regretted it immediately. If he took such a detour, Hux would wither before he expressed himself.

“Yes?”

“There’s a third… part, of the Force. It’s like a small crippled brother of the two. Force-users are immune to it, it’s too weak and twisted for them. But sometimes, it can… affect… certain people.”

“People like me?” Hux asked. He observed Kylo intently, as if he was intrigued by Kylo’s story but didn’t deem it important.

“People like you,” Kylo nodded and he glanced up into Hux’s eyes before staring back into his lap, “people who fall in love with a Dark Force-user.”

Time fell between them. Hux wondered whether he should ask for an explanation or give Kylo his space, and Kylo considered the benefits of electronic communication.

“What does it want?” 

Kylo frowned. He hadn't considered that, and apparently neither did the books.

“I don't know. Attention?” he shrugged. Hux raised an eyebrow. Kylo thought rapidly, afraid of losing Hux’s interest. 

“Let me explain it,” he sighed and closed his eyes for a brief moment. Hux turned his attention back, and he outstretched his hand towards Kylo. They linked their fingers almost thoughtlessly. “This part of the Force is too treacherous and weak to lure anyone to use it. But it's still a part of it, so it latches onto us users hoping to find a proper host. Someone it can manipulate without the person knowing.”

“Is it looking for me?” 

This was the problem with Hux - he was much too smart for his own good. Kylo couldn't say how much he was glad for it in that moment. He looked Hux in the eyes and replied. 

“It's already found you.”

Hux nodded, always so economical and sterile. He looked into his lap, then up at Kylo again. His eyes were dark and impenetrable. Kylo bit his lip.

“How bad is it?” 

“There’s no...scale. It’s very rare, and the old books tend to be rather vague. I noticed it about six weeks ago, and thought it something peculiar about a month ago. I’ve been trying to gather more information but all the books say the same,” Kylo took a deep breath.

“Death?”

“In the fortunate cases.”

Hux nodded again, and Kylo wanted to throw something at him, or hit him. He trembled with the frustrated screams he held in his chest, knowing if he let them out, he’d wake the demons. He decided to call the part killing his love demons; it sounded better than the truth. It was difficult to accept that this was Hux’s way of coping with the shock, but he’d seen it before. 

“Do you want to try to do something to prevent it?” Hux asked. He sounded disinterested, almost bored. His indifference saddened Kylo. 

“Of course I do,” he mumbled, not trusting his voice, “I want to try everything I can. I love you.”

“You said it was lethal.”

“I said that’s what the books say. I say fuck the books.”

Hux gave Kylo a pained, small smile. Kylo smiled back and tears sprang into his eyes. He wiped them with his free hand. 

“We overcame worse obstacles than this,” Hux said, “what is death to do us part?” 

Kylo smiled despite himself and he crawled back into Hux’s arms. 

…

Kylo never left Hux’s side unless it was completely necessary since then. His presence seemed to steady Hux’s spirit and keep the demons at bay, especially if Kylo made the effort to wrap his husband in a protective cocoon carefully woven of the Force. It was the closest to the Light that Kylo dared tread in years, and it felt tempting, safe and warm. He was certain he would become the most pious of Jedi if it meant saving Hux, but the books made it clear a bond like theirs only existed in the passionate Dark Force. They didn’t specify what might happen to it, or the other person, but he wasn’t going to try. 

Hux insisted Kylo tells him whenever the demons take over, and Kylo did despite the hurt look on Hux’s face. Sometimes his husband came back, sometimes he didn’t. He never attacked Kylo, didn’t dare yet, but Ren glimpsed calculation and determination in his eyes a couple of times. He decided to take it as a good sign, as Hux still being in control of his body. 

And of course, they searched relentlessly for any sliver of hope, of a guidance. Kylo was certain it was futile and he suspected so was Hux, but they both kept the pretence up for the other’s benefit. Kylo came to love their little sessions, despite the reason why they happened. He and Hux spent hours side by side, sometimes in silence over a manuscript, sometimes in quiet conversation about everything and nothing. They hadn’t had as much time to be together before, with all of their seemingly urgent duties, and Kylo found himself falling in love with Hux again. He’d almost forgotten how much he enjoyed his husband’s wit that could skip from topic to topic without a hitch, and how easily he could follow. 

Hux was the most stable in those quiet moments in libraries, and Kylo wished they could stay there forever, wished the serenity sufficed them. But that was the irony - Hux would never fall for him if he wasn’t a warrior, and Kylo had to admit that as much as he liked this peaceful version of Hux, he’d come to love the General who set the Galaxy afire simply because he wanted. 

They didn’t speak of the lack of results of their search. Hux kept a journal of things that allowed the demons to show, what emotions triggered it or how severe it was. Kylo didn’t want to see it, thinking it was a too tangible proof of how much he failed Hux. 

He didn’t bring up the topic that he was the poison in Hux’s veins, and that maybe it would go away with him if he left, but it pressed him like a too small shoe. He knew Hux had seen it mentioned in the books but he never commented on it and Kylo selfishly hoped he never will. And he hated himself for it. He should bring it up, maybe even force Hux to agree. But he wouldn’t. It would have to be permanent, of that he was sure. And maybe, the bond between wasn’t actually breakable by something as simple as distance. 

Kylo tried not to consider killing himself an option. 

…

Kylo stood by the tall window in their bedroom and stared outside of it without seeing. His vision was clouded by tears pooling up in his eyes and his mind preoccupied with replaying, over and over, the dreadful moments that brought him there. Hux was sleeping on the bed, propped on several pillows to ease his breathing, his neck already turning from crimson to violet and blue. 

_ “Hux,” Kylo whispers and touches Hux’s shoulder with his hand, hoping to anchor his husband, “stay with me, darling.” _

_ “Leave me alone,” Hux growls. Kylo stiffens, but he’s used to insults by now. He summons as much protective energy as he can and attempts to strengthen Hux with them as he usually does, but he’s met with resistance.  _

_ “Keep your hands off me.” _

_ Kylo is so taken aback that he lets Hux shake him off. The Force whirls confused around them, looking for a target but failing. Kylo panics now, feeling the nauseating thing inside Hux bubble up and take up more space. His instincts are telling him to run but he doesn’t, he can’t. He approaches Hux again, and ends up on his back on the floor, vicious yellow eyes staring at him.  _

_ “I told you to get off me,” the thing growls and Kylo coughs. Hux’s eyes flicker and Kylo grabs his husband’s arms in an attempt to roll them over. His tight grip angers the demons even more and one slender arm escapes his hand. It hits him, and Kylo can feel the skin of his eyebrow tear.  _

_ It’s easier to pretend it’s not Hux after that, and Kylo manages to get on top, straddling the writhing body of his husband. The demons are relentless; Kylo knows Hux’s limits and this is exceeding them. He doesn’t know if the exertion could actually kill Hux, but he’s not going to wait and see. He closes his hands around Hux’s neck and squeezes, whispering apologies as he waits for the struggle to cease. _

Kylo’s tears rolled down his face and onto his neck. He couldn’t feel a part of his face thanks to the analgesics the medics gave him, and he wished they could give him something similar for his aching soul. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, causing more tears to stain his shirt. It was ripped in one seam but he couldn’t find the strength to change. 

The medics assured him Hux would be fine and Kylo wished he could believe them. He would recover from the fight, yes, but what would happen then? 

Kylo outstretched his fingers almost painfully, watching the tendons strain beneath his skin and he summoned the Force. It came to him as willingly as ever, and he let it dance on his fingertips before summoning his lightsaber from across the room. He ignited it, observed the sizzling of the Force, and he felt a need to smash something, to destroy. He stood motionless for a while, eyes closed, and he toyed with the mental image for a while. He depowered it with a sigh, wishing he could just kill his problems.

“Kylo?” Hux croaked, and reached for his neck. He hissed when he touched the bruises, and frowned at Kylo. “What happened?”

“I had to… I couldn’t calm you down. I’m sorry,” Kylo sat on the edge of the bed, not sure whether he was allowed to touch Hux. 

“Did I do this?” Hux’s voice was barely a whisper, and he tried to point to the wound on Kylo’s forehead.

“It’s nothing,” Kylo dismissed it and caught Hux’s arm, laying it down gently, “I hurt you worse.”

Hux looked away, silent for a long time. Kylo thought he’d fallen asleep, but his eyes were still open. 

“I don’t remember it,” Hux murmured at last, looking back at Kylo with wide eyes, “I don’t remember anything.”

“Oh,” Kylo breathed. 

“Do you think this is it?” Hux went on, “Is this the point where I turn so unstable you have to kill me?” 

“No,” Kylo said, “nowhere near it. As long as I can pacify you, you’re stuck with me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know.”

“Do something about it, Kylo,” Hux whimpered, “do something. I’m scared.”

“I know,” Kylo whispered and leaned forward to press a kiss against Hux’s forehead, “I’m scared too. I’m so scared of losing you.”

The easy solution of killing the disease with its roots presented itself to Kylo again, but he pushed it away. Not as long as Hux loves him, not as long as he’d be missed. 

…

“I think we’ve been doing it all wrong,” Kylo pointed out. Hux hummed weakly in agreement and pulled his husband closer. It was late, the chrono on the bedside table read 2:27 and the sky outside the window was black. 

“Hux this is important,” Kylo insisted and he shook Hux’s shoulder.

“Will it solve all my problems and end world hunger if I pay attention to it now?” Hux groaned but he turned his face towards Kylo, keeping his eyes closed. 

“It may,” Kylo sat up. 

Hux groaned but he looked at Kylo. His husband was thin and in the faint light of the chrono there were dark shadows on his face. Hux thought how ironic it was that he was the one succumbing to mortal peril and yet Kylo seemed sick. 

“I’m all ears,” he said. 

“You know how the books said that separation might help-”

“If you woke me up at two in the morning to tell me you’re leaving me, I’m going to strangle you.”

“Of course I’m not leaving you,” Kylo said absent-mindedly, “but it got me thinking. What if it’s not  _ me _ who’s causing it? What if it’s my Force?” 

“That’s the facts, Ren, where are you going with this?” Hux didn’t like where this conversation was leading. It was just a suspicion, but knowing the things Kylo was capable of in despair, he wasn’t wrong.

“I could restrain it. Make it go away. It might take the ugly part in you away.”

“No,” Hux sat up to support his point with a shake of his head, “no way.”

“But it could save you,” Kylo protested, “and we could stay together. Like before.”

“It wouldn’t be like before and you know it,” Hux said, rubbing his face with one hand and sighing, “I can’t let you do this. Asking you to get rid of the Force… that’s like asking you to cut your legs off. You’d hate me.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“You  _ would _ . Maybe not at first, and maybe not consciously, but you’d yearn for it, and you’d miss it and then you’d wish you never married me because you’d still be free and strong instead of tied down and caged,” Hux said. His voice trembled and Kylo was afraid the demons might turn up. “I’d rather die than live to see you hate me.”

“Now you’re lying,” Kylo said, “you don’t mean that. That’s a tearjerker from dumb holovids, and you’re trying to manipulate me.”

“I still don’t want you to hate me,” Hux breathed, staring at the wall behind Kylo, “I wouldn’t give up my power for a flimsy hope I might cure you, and I don’t want you to do it for me. It may not work.”

“Do you have so little trust in me?” Kylo asked coldly. 

“I know you,” Hux said and turned his attention to his husband, “the Force is a fundamental part of you. What would you be without it?”

Kylo was angry now, both because Hux dared say he wouldn’t love him without the Force and because he was right. The Force had been with him ever since he could remember. Once, he got captured on a mission and his captors force-fed him some drug suppressing the Force, and he almost went mad. He thought he’d be able to take it for Hux, for his love. But he might as well not.

“I hope you realise how selfish you are,” he said at least, because a little stab in the back was the only thing he could do. “You ask me not to change to help you even though you know how it hurts me to see this... thing taking you away.”

“I’ve always been selfish, love,” Hux smiled bitterly, “but I know we’d both be miserable if we did this. Let’s go back to sleep.”

Kylo lay down beside Hux but turned his back to him. 

…

When Kylo woke up in the morning, Hux was lying on his back with his eyes opened, staring at the ceiling. He was so motionless Kylo thought he was dead for a while. It was a silly thought, and Hux’s chest rose and fell to prove it. Kylo blinked a couple of times and shifted on the bed, trying to wake up properly. 

“Ren?” 

It was barely a whisper, a shy and uncertain word. Hux hadn’t called him Ren for ages, and it brought Kylo back in time. The moment they got married, Kylo formerly rejected his old allegiance to Snoke and the knights of Ren and swore his loyalty to Hux. He wasn’t Ren anymore, as much as Hux wasn’t a General. 

“Yes?” Kylo whispered back, confused.

“I’m sorry for last night,” Hux said, eyes still trained on the ceiling.

“It’s okay-”

“No, it’s not.”

“You were right,” Kylo sighed and rolled over onto his stomach to look at Hux. His shirt didn’t finish the motion with him but he ignored the creased fabric under his stomach. 

“Of course I was right. That doesn’t mean I get to be an asshole,” Hux said and glanced at Kylo for a second, “I’m sorry. I know it’s difficult for you.”

“I just want to save you.”

“I know.”

“You were right, but my idea wasn’t bad,” Kylo said after a while of deliberation, “except I was wrong with whose Force we need to restrain. How did I not figure this out before?”

“Do you want to silence me somehow?” Hux asked and he finally turned his face towards Kylo. He was pale and, without his make-up, he looked exhausted and ill. Kylo had tried to trick himself into believing Hux hadn’t lost weight, but he was only successful because Hux now looked just as sickly as he did when they first got together all those years ago, in the aftermath of Starkiller. The years showed, and Kylo felt like scales finally fell from his eyes. He noticed only then that Hux had been watching him for a while, expecting an answer. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized quickly, trying to recall the question, “I got carried away.”

Hux blinked, opened his mouth to say something and closed it again. Kylo shifted his weight onto just one elbow and placed the hand of his other onto Hux’s chest. Hux melted beneath his touch and his expression softened. 

“There must be some residue of the Force within you. Maybe you just can’t use it and it’s there, absorbing the bad without giving you the good. But maybe we could try to suppress it,” Kylo said without commenting on the crisis he just quelled. There was no point in talking about it, Hux knew it from his response. They had developed a whole language of signals and gestures throughout their relationship for when saying something aloud might be too difficult

“You said I wasn’t Force sensitive.”

“You’re not, in the traditional way,” Kylo explained, “but maybe you have a potential for it? Maybe it’s like a multifactorial disorder, you have the predisposition for it but it only develops under certain circumstances.”

“I always told you the Force was a disorder,” Hux smiled almost fondly, as if he was glad he could still make jokes.

Kylo smiled back and kissed Hux on the shoulder before he got out of bed, ready to fetch the most dangerous drug to see if his theory was sound. Hux stayed in bed, reading on his datapad, having promised Kylo he wouldn’t go anywhere alone.

…

The moment the drug kicked in, Kylo felt a part of himself going numb until he couldn’t feel it anymore. The closest sensation he could think of was local anesthetics, but it wasn’t exactly the same. He panicked for some time, thinking he mishandled the drug and breathed in some of it. Hux seemed perfectly still beside him, sitting peacefully oblivious on the bed, and Kylo hoped Hux wouldn’t hate him for being an idiot. 

It took another hour in which Hux had been acting like he had a premonition, but then it came.

“Kylo, I… it’s doing something to me,” Hux said, moving his jaw in a funny way as if he was chewing on his words. 

“What do you feel?” Kylo asked. He sat cross-legged beside Hux and took his face between his hands, inspecting Hux’s eyes.

“Emptiness,” Hux breathed out, “like a part of my mind died. The background noise one.”

“Is it hurting you?” 

“You mean if I’m going to die?” Hux said and there was too much sarcasm. Hux was scared.

“You’re not going to die,” Kylo assured him. He didn’t know it for sure, but he hoped it wouldn’t turn on Hux.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Hux said at last, “it’s just… gone. I can’t feel it.”

“Is it getting worse? Spreading?”

“I don’t think so,” Hux shook his head, “do you know what it means?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Kylo had a theory, he just wasn’t ready to tell Hux yet. It would all fit together, and the madness of last weeks have made him immune to disbelief. They must have formed a bond somehow, without either of them noticing. A physical connection tying the two of them, merging their souls together. Kylo had read about it, in old books and romance novels from the old Sith Empire, but he’d never stopped to consider it to be real. It was a nice concept but that was just that. In the frenetic search for the source of Hux’s disease, Kylo forgot all about old fairy tales he read under the blankets as a boy. Maybe he shouldn’t have.

Kylo knew if he was right, the cure would work. As well as he knew that Hux had never had any faculty for the Force, and that there was no such thing as a dormant Force-user. The thing that settled inside Hux and attracted the demons was a part of Kylo himself. And if the cure was to work, it would have to subdue that part too. 

Kylo missed it already, even though he’d only learned that it existed. The thought that there was a part of him that latched onto Hux’s core excited him. There was a physical, tangible proof of their connection, of the fact that they were made for each other. Of course this connection tried to kill Hux. That was the bottom line of their whole relationship - everything good twisted and turned until it transformed into pain and suffering. Kylo supposed they deserved it, for all the people they killed, for all the misery they brought to the world. But in the end, it didn’t matter. They would always figure out a way to cheat and steal a little bit more happiness. That’s why they ruled the galaxy after all.

“But I think it’s going to be alright,” he said because he owed Hux at least that for now, “I promise.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Come say hi on tumblr!](http://ellstra.tumblr.com/)


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